§ 228 — Pension plans for backstretch employees

§ 228. Pension plans for backstretch employees. 1. The commission may,\nas a condition of racing, require all trainers and owners engaged in\nracing at meetings of any corporation subject to its jurisdiction to\nparticipate in a pension plan or trust established, or which may be\nestablished, by trainers and owners for the benefit of stable employees\n(backstretch workers) regularly employed at such meetings; if the\ncommission finds that participation in the plan by all such owners and\ntrainers is in the best interests of racing and further finds, based\nupon certification by the trustees of such plan, that at least eighty\npercent of such trainers and owners have agreed in writing to\nparticipate, or are, in fact, participating therein.\n 2. The commission shall, as a condition of racing, require any\nfranchised corporation and every other corporation subject to its\njurisdiction to withhold one percent of all purses, except that for the\nfranchised corporation, starting on September first, two thousand seven\nand continuing through August thirty-first, two thousand twenty-seven,\ntwo percent of all purses shall be withheld, and, in the case of the\nfranchised corporation, to pay such sum to the horsemen's organization\nor its successor that was first entitled to receive payments pursuant to\nthis section in accordance with rules of the commission adopted\neffective November third, nineteen hundred eighty-three representing at\nleast fifty-one percent of the owners and trainers using the facilities\nof such franchised corporation, on the condition that such horsemen's\norganization shall expend as much as is necessary, but not to exceed\none-half of one percent of such total sum, to acquire and maintain the\nequipment required to establish a program at a state college within this\nstate with an approved equine science program to test for the presence\nof steroids in horses, provided further that the qualified organization\nshall also, in an amount to be determined by its board of directors,\nannually include in its expenditures for benevolence programs, funds to\nsupport an organization providing services necessary to backstretch\nemployees, and, in the case of every other corporation, to pay such one\npercent sum of purses to the horsemen's organization or its successor\nthat was first entitled to receive payments pursuant to this section in\naccordance with rules of the commission adopted effective May\ntwenty-third, nineteen hundred eighty-six representing at least\nfifty-one percent of the owners and trainers using the facilities of\nsuch corporation.\n In either case, any other horsemen's organization may apply to the\ncommission to be approved as the qualified organization to receive\npayment of the one percent of all purses by submitting to the commission\nproof of both, that (i) it represents more than fifty-one percent of all\nthe owners and trainers using the same facilities and (ii) the\nhorsemen's organization previously approved as qualified by the\ncommission does not represent fifty-one percent of all the owners and\ntrainers using the same facilities. If the commission is satisfied that\nthe documentation submitted with the application of any other horsemen's\norganization is conclusive with respect to subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of\nthis paragraph, the commission may approve the applicant as the\nqualified recipient organization.\n In the best interests of racing, upon receipt of such an application,\nthe commission may direct the payments to the previously qualified\nhorsemen's organization to continue uninterrupted, or it may direct the\npayments to be withheld and placed in interest-bearing accounts for a\nperiod not to exceed ninety days, during which time the commission shall\nreview and approve or disapprove the application. Funds held in such\nmanner shall be paid to the organization approved by the commission. In\nno event shall the commission accept more than one such application in\nany calendar year from the same horsemen's organization.\n The funds authorized to be paid by the commission are to be used\nexclusively for the benefit of those horsemen racing in New York state\nthrough the administrative purposes of such qualified organization,\nbenevolent activities on behalf of backstretch employees, and for the\npromotion of equine research.\n